Robot RFID Asset Management for Hospitals

Aethon Inc makes availabile its mobile RFID-enabled solution that locates, delivers and recovers hospital assets. The solution performs automated transportation featuring an RFID-based asset tracking system and a robotic asset delivery and recovery system. The solution helps hospitals to improve efficiency and patient satisfaction, increase utilization of assets, and improve regulatory compliance. ...

... "HOMER's unique asset tracking capabilities are an outgrowth of technology made possible by TUG, the most successful automated courier system for the delivery and recovery of hospital goods and supplies. Leveraging the TUG platform, HOMER employs a single mobile antenna that eliminates the typical infrastructure hurdles of competitors’ systems. This translates into more efficient organization and location of pumps, wheelchairs, monitors, respirators, beds and virtually any other assets hospitals are interested in tracking. A cost-effective and comprehensive solution, HOMER can seamlessly merge with existing hospital systems and requires minimal installation. HOMER works with active RFID tags (unique identifiers). Because it can use any third-party tag, HOMER is tag independent. Furthermore, HOMER can be integrated into existing asset management software. Aethon provides installation, tag selection and setup, software integration, training and support. TUG is an autonomous mobile robot that requires no extra infrastructure investment, is simple to install and has many applications such as central supply, dietary, pharmacy, laboratory, medical records, nursing and linens. Currently, the TUG delivery and recovery system is being used in hospitals across 75 sites. Many hospitals have deployed multiple TUGs to save time and money, while increasing staff and patient satisfaction. " ...

Via Aethon: Aethon Redefines Hospital Asset Utilization ...

RFID-Enabled Mobile Clinical Assistant, MCA

Motion Computing introduces new C5 mobile clinical assistant (MCA) at UCSF Medical Center. The MCA is a new computing category that enables the healthcare processes of nurses, physicians and other clinicians with mobility. The Motion C5 integrates reliable, automated patient data management at the point of care. UCSF piloted the the mobile clinical assistant to assess clinician productivity improvements through enabling mobile point of care. Its analysis demonstrates a substantial improvement in nurse productivity, satisfaction and documentation accuracy. ...

... "This collaborative effort resulted in development of the Motion C5 - designed with and for clinicians - that is now being implemented in clinician usability studies worldwide. The C5 is the first highly sealed, fully disinfectable computer to integrate into one durable device the relevant technologies important to clinician workflow and productivity. The C5 combines multiple devices into one - including a built-in barcode and RFID reader for patient identification and supply, specimen and medication administration verification; a built-in camera; and a fingerprint reader to improve security and simplify clinician authentication. " ...

Via Motion Computing: Motion Launches Industry's First Mobile Clinical Assistant Designed Specifically for Clinicians ...

DOD RFID Final Rule Adopted

DOD adopts final RFID rule and will require the use of Gen-2 RFID tags. ...

... "DoD has adopted as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to include additional commodities and locations that require package marking with passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The rule requires contractors to affix passive RFID tags at the case and palletized unit load levels when shipping packaged petroleum, lubricants, oils, preservatives, chemicals, additives, construction and barrier materials, and medical materials to specified DoD locations.

RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (FEB 2007)

(a) Passive RFID tag means a tag that reflects energy from the reader / interrogator or that receives and temporarily stores a small amount of energy from the reader/interrogator signal in order to generate the tag response.
(1) Until February 28, 2007, the acceptable tags are --

(i) EPC Class 0 passive RFID tags that meet the EPCglobal Class 0 specification; and (ii) EPC Class 1 passive RFID tags that meet the EPCglobal Class 1 specification. This includes both the Generation 1 and Generation 2 Class 1 specifications.

(2) Beginning March 1, 2007, the only acceptable tags are EPC Class 1 passive RFID tags that meet the EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2 specification. Class 0 and Class 1 Generation 1 tags will no longer be accepted after February 28, 2007. " ...

Via Federal Register: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Radio Frequency Identification (DFARS Case 2006-D002)

Active RFID Partner Program

AeroScout creates a partner program to provide partners with the tools they need to meet growing customer demand for RFID solutions. ...

... "AeroScout works with over 150 value added resellers, systems integrators and software providers, such as Philips Medical Systems and NEC Unified Solutions, to provide solutions for healthcare, manufacturing, logistics and other industries worldwide. The AeroScout Partner Program provides them with a comprehensive set of tools, collateral and training, as well as an incentive program, in order to capitalize on the growing opportunity within the global Active RFID market. " ...

Via AeroScout: AeroScout Launches New Partner Program To Extend

Hospital RFID Realizes Patient Benefits

HP and Precision Dynamics implement patient management system based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in Taiwan at the Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH). The hospital CIO sees the hospital realizing benefits through a reduction in medical errors, from root causes such as manual processes, compliance to standard operating procedures, and visibility to real-time patient status and medical process exceptions. The system is architected with PDC's RFID wristbands and HP's mobile and fixed RFID infrastructure. Privacy is managed by storing confidential patient information on the RFID chip rather than printing the information on the wristband. ...

... "CGMH implemented the RFID system in its operating rooms to improve patient safety by verifying and positively identifying patients, gathering real-time data, reducing risk of wrong-site and/or wrong-patient surgery, and ensuring compliance with hospital patient safety procedures or standard operating procedures. Since the implementation, CGMH has achieved 100% accuracy in patient ID in the OR. The new RFID system automates many manual functions of the previous operating room processes. The system helps verify that the five rights of medication safety are met - right patient, medication, dose, time, and route - as well as right surgery and surgical site. Automating patient data verification processes has saved CGMH medical staff an average of 4.3 minutes per patient. Also, automated data collection has helped prevent common manual data entry mistakes, which if gone undetected could lead to medical errors." ...

Via HP: Precision Dynamics Corporation and HP Provide Chang Gung Memorial Hospital with RFID System for Patient Management

Healthcare RFID MayoClinic

3M and Mayo Clinic demonstrate pilot installation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) system in Mayo Clinic's endoscopy surgical suites for management of the collection and tracking of patient tissue samples. 3M RFID system was configured to enable Mayo Clinic's business processes for specimen management. ...

... "Utilizing 3M Track and Trace Technology, this RFID system enhances Mayo Clinic's ability to manage specimen and tissue samples from the collection stage to the pathology laboratory. Collecting and analyzing patient tissue is a crucial medical procedure. Mayo Clinic continues to take a leadership role in health care's effort focused on patient safety and care. Multiple 3M technologies were brought forward during the five-month pilot project at Mayo Clinic. Results demonstrated quantifiable operational efficiencies in the specimen-management process, accurate communication of data, and verification of information. Expansion of the Track and Trace system within the endoscopy practice will take place in planned, controlled phases. 3M and Mayo Clinic expect this rollout to be completed in early 2007. " ...

Via 3M: Two Minnesota Institutions Advance RFID Technologies in Health Care

RFID Sensor Tag: Medical Product Logistics

DHL develops RFID sensor tag with IBM and partners in the pharmaceutical industry. The RFID sensor tag is used successfully in the overseas transport of diagnostic material and vaccines. ...

... "A special RFID sensor tag controls and documents the temperature of items throughout transport. The measuring data are available at every read point so that senders, recipients and inspectors alike can check the condition of the products at any time. After all, fluctuations in temperature outside of the recommended range can have a negative effect on the lifespan of medical products such as vaccines. The new sensor tag is a combination of temperature sensor and RFID radio chip. It permits continuous monitoring and recording of a pre-defined temperature range as well as read-out of the data at any time, without having to open the shipment. Thanks to the sensor's special design, it can be attached especially close to the product, not just on the inside of the packaging as before. In addition, the current lifespan of the product can be calculated and read out at any time. This was previously possible only at the end of a transport. " ...

Via DHL: DHL and partners develop RFID sensor solution for the pharmaceutical industry ...

RFID Improves Stroke Treatment: Access Health Records

National Stroke Association endorses implantable RFID microchips as a treatment to enable access to the critical health records of stroke victims. A stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. National Stroke Association is the leading national non-profit organization devoting all of its efforts and resources to stroke. VeriMed Patient Identification System is used to rapidly and accurately identify people who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to communicate. This RFID identification system uses the first human-implantable passive microchip, the implantable VeriChip. ...

... "The National Stroke Association (NSA) has recognized that implantable RFID microchip technology offers the ability to improve stroke treatment by providing medical professionals with immediate access to vital health information of stroke-afflicted patients. An excerpt from the letter, signed by James Baranski, CEO of the National Stroke Association, states: Personal Health Records, including implantable RFID microchips such as VeriMed, could play a critical role in assisting medical professionals in delivering appropriate stroke treatment promptly, leading to better patient outcomes. The VeriMed Patient Identification System which consists of a handheld radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner, an implantable RFID microchip and a secure patient database, is being used to help rapidly identify and provide access to important health information on participating patients who arrive at an emergency department unconscious, delirious or unable to communicate. This implantable RFID system is the only system of its type cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in people. " ...

Via VeriChip: National Stroke Association Views Implantable RFID Microchip such as VeriMed as a Potential Life-Saving Medical Device ...

RFID Tag: Radiation Resistant

AdvantaPure introduces the GammaTag, an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag that is safely sterilizable by gamma radiation. ...

... "GammaTag provides reliable electronic identification and data storage of single-use/disposable components used in critical process industries, such as pharmaceutical, bioprocess/biomedical, food and beverage, and medical device. GammaTag easily attaches to components such as sample and production bags, tanks, filters, manifolds, tubing and hose, storage vessels, and to complete single-use systems. Several attachment methods - silicone tape, watchband style holders, pouches, and lamination - are available. GammaTag withstands gamma radiation up to 45 kGy (kilograys) and temperatures from -20°C (-4°F) to 85°C (185°F). GammaTag's read/write ability makes it unique, as data may be written directly on the tag, unlike read-only bar code labels or tags. In conjunction with a handheld tag reader and software (known as PET, Process Equipment Tracking), GammaTag allows access to the current status of process components on the spot - simply aim the reader towards the tag to recall information or to write new data to the tag. " ...

Via AdvantaPure: AdvantaPure Introduces the Only Read/Write RFID Tag That's Gamma-Radiation Resistant ...

Philips RFID: Healthcare Assets

Philips RFID technology is focused on the healthcare market combined with services. The first customer to deploy the Philips asset tracking solution is the University Medical Center (UMC) in Tucson, Ariz. Philips installation at UMC is one of the healthcare industry's largest Wi-Fi-based asset tracking projects. This RFID implementation covers eight floors and a million square feet with 2,300 RFID-tagged assets in use throughout the hospital. The hospital workforce will use the Philips RFID solution to track and manage medical equipment, such as infusion pumps, beds, monitors, wheelchairs and other portable devices. ...

... "Helping hospitals to focus on the patient, Philips' asset tracking solution helps locate hospital assets through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The solution is designed to work within existing wireless infrastructure, allowing hospitals to leverage investments they have already made in wireless technology. Philips' asset tracking solution consists of a suite of services to maximize the solution's benefits, including wireless tags, a location engine and the MobileView user interface. Product tracking information is fed into the location engine and the asset's position can then be portrayed on a map, in a table, or in a report format for any networked hospital user. In addition to pinpointing lost equipment, the information gathered from the asset tracking solution can help improve asset utilization and work flow efficiencies.

The Philips asset tracking solution is designed around each hospital's specific use cases to help solve problems such as productivity, regulation requirements, utilization, theft, and loss. With an understanding of the unique requirements that the healthcare environment demands, Philips has an advanced solution that can enable hospitals to make facility-wide improvement. The Philips asset tracking solution utilizes technology that includes wireless tags, a location engine, and the MobileView user interface. The tags, which can be attached to most mobile assets, transmit to the hospital’s existing 802.11 infrastructure. This information is fed into the location engine and the asset's position can then be portrayed on a map, or in a table or report format for any networked hospital user. " ...

Via Philips: Philips Delivers New Radiology Products At 2006 RSNA That Present Clinicians with a Clear View of Patient Data and a Clear Path to Patient Care

Hospital RFID: High Value Asset Management ...

THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano will be dedicated solely to providing inpatient and outpatient cardiovascular care. The $100 million, 68-bed hospital is scheduled to open in January 2007 on the campus of Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano., Texas Hospital will automate the storage, tracking, utilization, and billing of clinical resources through RFID technology to realize benefits in enhanced care quality, increased productivity, accurate billing, and significant inventory cost savings. ...

... "To support the opening of the facility in January 2007, THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano will implement a radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled inventory management system to store, track, and manage the utilization of high cost cardiovascular devices and supplies. Developed by Mobile Aspects, Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pa., the system, called iRISupply, uses a RFID tracking architecture to automate charge capture, inventory management, device expiration management, and other key operational processes within the patient care setting. THE HEART HOSPITAL will implement fourteen iRISupply cabinet units to manage items such as stents, catheters, and guide wires that are commonly used during cardiovascular procedures. In leveraging the RFID technology, the organization seeks to efficiently and accurately automate device and supply utilization processes without manual tracking approaches such as paper documentation, stickers, bar coding or button pushing. " ...

Via Mobile Aspects: THE HEART HOSPITAL Baylor Plano selects RFID system from Mobile Aspects ...

UWB RFID Hospital Tracking System ...

Parco Wireless plans next-generation of RFID ultra-wideband (UWB) tracking system targeted for healthcare environments. ...

... "Precis incorporates Time Domain Corporation's Pulson ultra-wideband technologies in its design. The new line will include a full suite of products that include assets tags, patient wristbands, personnel badges and two design type readers. According to company leadership, the new Precis tags and receivers will help dispel all misconceptions about the higher cost of implementing a UWB tracking system. While the cost of UWB tracking technologies were historically higher when compared to competing technologies such as Infrared (IR) or WiFi systems, many hospitals felt compelled to hold off on implementing a UWB active RFID tracking system despite the superior benefits UWB systems offered.

The locations of the tags are tracked by UWB readers installed at fixed locations within a medical facility providing the location of patients, caregivers, and equipment within accuracy of 1.5 feet. The tags use extremely low-power as evidenced by their average life of over four years using a single 3 volt battery. " ...

Via Parco Wireless: Parco Wireless Set to Release World Class Tracking System ...

RFID Security: NSF Funds Smart Tag Research ...

National Science Foundation, NSF, provides funding to increase the privacy and security of RFID smart tags, through better cryptographics.

... "Strengthened security for smart tags - the wireless devices that allow drivers to zip through automatic tollbooths or pass a security desk with the flash of a card - is the aim of a new initiative that has received $1.1 million from the National Science Foundation. Led by Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the researchers are developing much-needed cryptographic protocols, hardware and applications for the increasingly common devices. Millions of consumers already use smart tags—wireless devices that use radio waves to identify and authenticate people and things - and they will become more numerous, says Fu.



Smart tags - which include Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags—are already used to track items from library books to merchandise to cattle. Increasingly, they are replacing the magnetic stripe cards used in security badges and mass transit cards, sometimes also serving as electronic cash. The tags will soon be incorporated into documents such as passports; their use is being explored for tracking medical records and prison inmates. But the tags, which also include contactless smart cards and low-resource sensors, are a technology that has crept in from the edge of the Internet and they present new challenges in terms of security and privacy issues, says Fu.

The unique environment presented by smart tags - they can operate without human intervention and without a physically connected power source - presents unique security concerns, says Fu. Smart tags automatically respond to the device that reads them, so human users don't have the traditional means of giving or denying consent to the reader. This infrastructure of untrusted readers and tags requires an approach that preserves privacy while maintaining the flexibility and convenience that the tags offer.

The new consortium, dubbed the RFID ConsortiUm for Security and Privacy (RFID-CUSP), takes these operating conditions into account and is designing new cryptographic definitions, algorithms and models that will lay the solid foundation on which secure applications can be built. As part of their project, the researchers are working with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). The project will result in the first completely open, publicly available software for experimenting with RFID security and privacy. " ...

UMass Amherst: UMass Amherst-Led Research Will Protect Consumers by Ramping Up Security for Smart Tags

Kevin Fu: "Open cryptanalysis of existing RFID protocols will give assurance in the soundness of reliable RFID technology. At UMass, we are investigating how to build secure RFID-based systems. "

The Sensor Revolution: Industry & Commerce: "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) stands among the fastest-proliferating sensor technologies. RFID systems combine electromagnetic sensing with radio communications. RFID tags and interrogators can be used to track inventory in a warehouse or collect tolls from moving cars. "

Understanding Contactless Smart Card Technologies and Some of the Leading Reader/Card Product Providers (PDF): "That transmission could then be replayed to a reader to gain access illicitly at some time in the future. In contrast, today’s secure contactless cards and readers (such as XceedID ISO-X and HID iCLASS) employ a myriad of cryptographic techniques. These techniques encrypt data in ways that render it useless to an illicit user. Thus, traditional proximity cards and readers provide inferior communication security when compared to secure contactless smart cards and readers. "

RFID Healthcare RTLS Solutions ...

SYMX and RF Code collaborate to deliver active RFID solutions for real-time location services in the healthcare industry. ...

... "RF Code, Inc., a leading provider of Real-Time Location and Sensor (RTLS) solutions, announced an agreement with SYMX Technologies Inc., a division of SYMX Corporation, a global provider of medical equipment services and products, to supply SYMX with health care RTLS solutions under a contract worth $30 million over the next three years. Under this exclusive agreement, SYMX will enable broader utilization of RF Code's complete health care solution platform. SYMX will integrate RF Code's RTLS capabilities into its SYMX Solutions offering, thus, giving hospitals the ability to quickly and accurately track the exact location and status of vital devices, ranging from infusion pumps to expensive implantable products. To accomplish this, SYMX will establish RF Code's active RFID technology as the platform into a broad range of medical and surgical equipment services. Through this approach, costly equipment and mission critical devices can be more effectively utilized and life-saving equipment can be found quickly. Health care professionals will have the management tools necessary to improve quality control and patient care while reducing costs by providing the systems needed to track and manage life-critical assets across the hospital. " ...

RFID Healthcare RTLS Solutions: Via RF Code: RF Code Inks $30 Million Deal with SYMX ...

RFID Medical Record Army System ...

3M will implement RFID-enabled medical record system for the US Army that support their operational efficiency objectives and increase the quality of services through reduced errors. ...

... "3M has been awarded a $3.76 million contract to develop and install a system that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track medical files at the U.S. Army's massive Fort Hood Installation in Texas. The system is expected to make a positive impact on operational efficiencies in health care delivery, the troop deployment process and the management of medical data collection. The active medical records of more than 150,000 servicemen and women and their dependents are housed at five sites at Fort Hood, and as many as 70,000 files may be in use at the base's six clinics during the course of a month.



The RFID system is intended to substantially reduce errors and inefficiencies associated with manual tracking, retrieval, filing and file merging methods. The tracking of Army medical records through RFID technology is an innovation led by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), a unit of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). Fort Hood, situated about 60 miles north of Austin, the state capital, is the nation's largest active duty domestic military installation, occupying some 340 square miles. The Army becomes the third federal entity to employ RFID systems from 3M, following similar decisions recently by the Tax Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Tax Court. Unlike the other applications, however, the system in development for the Army requires higher-performance capability and a greater degree of continuous and automatic tracking of the files. " ...

Via 3M: United States Army Awards Contract to 3M for Pilot RFID Program To Track and Manage Medical Records at Fort Hood ...

RFID Medical Device Management: Human Error Reduction ...

Wren Medical collaborates to deliver RFID-based management of medical devices. ...

... "Wren Medical and ETCOM have developed the best RFID solution for Wren Medical's applications, and is now employing the use of Active RFID technology to enhance its current software offering that guarantees accurate data collection and establishes a clearly defined process for cycling of a medical device - from location to utilization to biomedical service history. RFID technology has proven that by automating data collection the potential for human errors and inconsistencies is eliminated. Wren Medical has been providing unique software solutions to their customers for several years, and is currently managing tens of thousands of medical devices for health care providers all over North America. Their system offers a complete solution for asset management by addressing all of the following areas: location, utilization, preventative maintenance schedule, repair history, warranty information, depreciation, valuation, and more. " ...

RFID Medical Device Management: Human Error Reduction: Via Wren Medical: Wren Medical Systems, Inc. Initiates the Use of Active RFID with their State-of-the-Art Asset Management Network ...

RFID Chips Support Electronic Medical Records ...

VeriChip, Hackensack Medical Center, and Horizon BCBS NJ collaborate to enable an real-time on-demand electronic medical record through RFID technology, which will be accomplished through RFID implants in patients. ...

... "Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state's oldest and largest health insurer, announced a two-year collaboration with Hackensack University Medical Center, its physicians, and the VeriChip Corporation (VeriChip) to implant FDA-approved microchips in chronically ill patients enabling emergency room physicians to access those patients' medical record electronically. The microchips provide immediate access to family contact information and information about the patients' medical histories that could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. Horizon BCBSNJ will make the new technology, developed by the VeriChip Corporation of Delray Beach, Florida, available to select members with chronic conditions. Those members who participate in the program will agree to have an implantable radio frequency identification device (RFID), the size of a grain of rice, placed under their skin. VeriChip calls the RFID a personal health record module. The information on the module will include medical information from Horizon BCBSNJ's claim records, such as lab test data and pharmacy prescription information. This module emits a 16-digit number that links the patient to their electronic medical record when a special hand-held scanner is waved over it. The pilot program will give Hackensack Medical Center physicians access to the member's electronic medical records and other vital information in the event the chronically ill member cannot respond during an emergency. The content of the electronic medical records will be approved by each member and include information about their condition, family contact information as well as lab test data and pharmacy information maintained by Horizon BCBSNJ. " ...

RFID Chips Support Electronic Medical Records: Via VeriChip: Horizon Blue Cross to Sponsor Two-Year Pilot With Hackensack to Implant Microchips in Chronically Ill Patients ...